EVANSTON, Ill. — After a 21-point, 13-rebound performance, Cody Zeller sat at the postgame podium inside Welsh-Ryan Arena and was asked by a member of the media to react to the big numbers he’s put up so far this Big Ten season.

It was perhaps the theme of Indiana’s afternoon against the Wildcats, a 67-59 win in which the Hoosiers were outscored 42-36 in the second half and had trouble with the Wildcats’ halfcourt trap out of a 1-3-1 zone. Northwestern, behind some sharpshooting from distance (5-of-10) and little mistakes on offense (just one turnover) after halftime, were able to make things interesting after Indiana went up 16 at the 11:09 mark on a pair of Christian Watford free throws.

“They just kind of speed us up for a while, we kind of panicked for a while,” said Zeller. “That’s what their defense forces you to do. Once we started getting into the middle, the baseline, we started getting open shots.”

Those shots came on three straight possessions: A Jordan Hulls jumper was tipped in by Zeller. A Victor Oladipo 3-pointer followed by a Will Sheehey jumper also helped keep the Wildcats at bay, though a Jared Swopshire 3-pointer after IU’s mini-run pulled them to within five points with 2:31 to go. But that’s as close as it would get. The Wildcats could do little else but put the Hoosiers to the line late, where they converted (7-of-8 in the last 57 seconds).

“A very telling point for this game was when we scored three straight buckets when the game could have gone the other way for us,” said Tom Crean.

The Hoosiers have now won their first three road games of the Big Ten season and five of their last six dating back to last season.

“It’s kind of tough to explain, even in high school I didn’t believe in home-court advantage (being) such a big deal,” said Zeller. “But now that I’ve experienced it is — it’s worth quite a few points.”

Added Tom Crean: “It’s really hard as a freshman to go anywhere in the Big Ten, but especially to play Northwestern for your first time. Because you have no real idea just how hard they cut, how much movement they’re in … until you go through it, it’s hard, it’s really hard.”

Zeller’s big afternoon

While Zeller wasn’t much interested in discussing his big day, it bears a mention here: The 7-footer was dominant in the paint for much of the afternoon. Northwestern had a tough time keeping him off the glass, where he got a number of tip-ins for scores off four offensive rebounds. The Washington native was able to use his physicality and size against a Northwestern roster that had no body to match up with his, and he drew fouls all afternoon as well. Zeller hit 9-of-10 free throws and recorded two steals.

“He played well,” said Crean. “Cody did a good job. Cody stepped up and did some really good things.”

Oladipo’s eye

Oladipo got poked in the right eye at the 10:50 mark of the second half, which forced him out of the game and into the locker room for a short period of time. Oladipo was able to return to the court, where he hit the aforementioned 3-pointer and also two late free throws.

After the game, Oladipo exited the arena wearing a patch over his right eye.

That quote from Crean about how tough it is for a freshman to go on the road to play Northwestern for a first time is interesting. I thought Yogi was benched for either his turnovers or because Crean didn’t trust him against the zone. He kind of suggests that the decision was based on defense?

WatchingYogi_atYogis

He went on to say that Yogi played pretty well, so maybe that wasn’t what he was talking about.

SCHoosier

What I know:
-We’ve won 3 road games in the B-10..an achievement.

-IU dominated N-W in the first half..strong showing

-Team had only 6 TO’s and controlled the boards…excellent
_Zeller had a strong game despite a hack-attack..but MUST finish better.
-Hoosiers showed toughness with those 3 critical shots late in the second half
What I don’t know:
-why IU was totally unprepared for yet another second half adjustment( to a zone) given NW’s first half woes
-why with two seniors, a POY candidate and a great athlete (VO)..IU “panicked” and showed not once ounce of coaching/and-or execution on how to attack that zone…until the lead was down to five
-why Remy is now playing and shooting with cement shoes
-why our senior guard picked up his dribble so often and got into trouble so often.

These and other mysteries surrounding the formerly #1 ranked b-ball team will be solved in the coming weeks, or given the tough Feb schedule, the Hoosiers will be an also ran middle to high seed come tourney time. Keep the faith..Go Hoosiers!

Mac

The lead on this story is distasteful. Implying that our players could care less is ridiculous. Cody simply meant that his personal stats are no matter to him. He just wants to win. The media need to settle their seemingly impossible expectations of these players. They are winning games in a tough conference. That’s the only thing that matters.

sloan screen #45

I would have be happy “hanging on” for a win in Welsh Ryan three years ago. For petes sake its Northwestern down their best player and half the fans wore red. My advice for Hoosier fans is stay off the national cbb Blogs. You will get eaten alive with the overrated chat and you cant argue til this team actually accomplishes something .

Benhyoung14

My assumption was that he was talking about Yogi. He had more turnovers than assists.

Benhyoung14

My assumption was that he was talking about Yogi. He had more turnovers than assists.

Rick

Was there a different story posted here earlier? the lead of this story implies nothing close to saying the players don’t care. It says, ver clearly, exactly as you stated: Cody said his personal stats mean nothing

What is with the three likes to this comment? Read the first 2 paragraphs again Mac.

Rick

Was there a different story posted here earlier? the lead of this story implies nothing close to saying the players don’t care. It says, ver clearly, exactly as you stated: Cody said his personal stats mean nothing

What is with the three likes to this comment? Read the first 2 paragraphs again Mac.

hoosiersfan33

what a sad senior season for elston

Larry33

I was at the game and Zeller would sometimes play soft. Laying the ball up and missing it when he should have had a power dunk.